Notice the lack of "Online". Yeah, this is for the old series on the Master System/Genesis (PSI-IV, respectively), and seeing as none of them were developed by Sonic Team (to my knowledge, at least that's what wikipedia is telling me), then this belongs here (South Island indicates anything made by "Sonic Team")! 
I love the old series (Although I do love PSOI, it just isn't like the classic saga to me) like you wouldn't believe. The peaks of the series are absolutely amazing considering the time in which they were released. Hell, look at the first Phantasy Star game and consider it was made in 1988. I don't know many 8-bit rpgs that look that good from that time period. Hell, look at Phantasy Star II and consider when it was released, Dragon Warrior I had just been released in the US, and Final Fantasy I hadn't even reached America yet. It definitely helps the futuristic theme that PSII has that it feels more "advanced" (The game featured some impressive monster animations and soundtracks considering it was released on the shores in 1989) than it's peers. Of course, the major gripe with the first two games are the massive difficulty level with the dungeons, but considering the game packaged a full walkthrough with it, I see no harm in taking a peek at some maps online 
The first two are definitely old-school rpgs that aren't meant to be easy or to be beaten within a day. Approach them with an old-school mindset and I find them highly enjoyable.
PSIII isn't viewed very highly, but I like it for what it is. It introduced a pretty unique "generations" model that I really haven't seen used in gaming today. The only example I can really think of is Dragon Quest V, and it still isn't quite as unique. Of courses, the game does feel like "One step forward, two steps back" and I agree with that. The lack of monster animations and atrocious production of the music (The music itself is extremely well composed, I'd say. It's just something horribly wrong went with producing it, somehow) definitely makes it feel like it wasn't a true Phantasy Star game. The plot barely links to the rest of the series, and the dungeons are somewhat simplistic compared to the previous two (Although I don't think this is a valid complaint, PSIV's dungeons aren't that complicated either and no one whines and *****es over that). Despite that, I think the first two generations are a lot of fun, the only part that was deal-breaking was all the BACKTRACKING in Generation 3. Anyone that played Gen 3 knows what I'm talking about. They know what I'm talking about. If that was fixed I think Phantasy Star 3 could easily be an 8/10 and very enjoyable game.
Despite the failures though, I really like PSIII. It's not perfect, but it's not unplayable.
But the cream of the crop has to be Phantasy Star IV. It just has the "right" story to finish off the saga. Everything about that game just feels "right". The battle system is fast, simple (Once you learn what all the techs/skills are, but I've played the series a ton so I've memorized them all by now) and very fun. The music is some of the best that the Sega Genesis ever had (The bass lick leading into the title screen is <3 ). I absolutely love the writing and dialogue of the game (Something the previous Phantasy Star games lacked, most likely due to memory concerns). I mean, hell, Raja is the greatest White Mage of all time if not for his script alone (Having the only technique in the game that restores TP/MP in battle also helps). One of my favorite games of all time and the peak of the series.
Also, for those curious, all four of these games are available on Virtual Console (If wikipedia is to be believed) o.o
Any other old-school PS fans out there or am I alone here?
I'm definitely looking forward to eventually playing through 2-4 on my Sega Genesis Collection for psp but alas I've got so many other games to play through that its really at the bottom of the pack, same with the two Phantasy Star Portable games.
Although I'd definitely pick up and play in a heartbeat a new Phantasy Star that didn't revolve around online, I'd think it'd be probably neat.
Eh, I don't trust Sega to be able to do PSV correctly without failing massively. *Points at recent sonic titles*
Do you really want PSV: Dark Force Unleashed?
I though so.
Phantasy Star II is very much an old-school rpg in that it's brutal, mind you. It does not play nice. The game's first dungeon is arguably harder than most rpg's final dungeons and many of the later dungeons have insane dungeon designs (Hence whyI say if you play, bring some maps with you :P) It's not unbeatable, I've beaten it using the weakest cast of characters possible, but the game likes to beat your team around like a rag-doll 😛 Oh and it only has 4 bosses, but anymore would probably be overkill given that you're barely alive after each dungeon =P
PSIV is probably the one you should play first. It's not nearly as brutal as II or as weird as III and neither game is very plot-heavy (In the vein of old-school rpgs, of course). IV definitely feels like a polished 16-bit RPG and one of my all-time favorite games.
You're definitely intriquing me more. I'd get down to playing them right now but my back catalog is hee-uge and I've got other games with more priority. =O
THIS PLEASES RAJA
I love me some Phantasy Star, despite the fact that the only one I've played to completion was PSIV. 😡
I missed out on the first, never owning a SMS until long after the game was AWOL from store shelves. However, I had a Genny and rented PSII to try it out. Almost killed my interest in the franchise! The game wasn't bad (I grew up playing Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy so I was used to the intense grinding nature of the early jRPGs), but Phantasy Star II used the most god-awful sound effects used in battle I've ever heard up to that point (maybe still). Ear-grating, brain-retarding terrible. I think the farthest I got was the Dam. Shame. PSIII came and went, I had no interest in it. But then PSIV was starting to be hyped up in the game mags, and I got that itch again. Rented it, fell in love, regretted ever breaking up with her. PSIV, in my eyes (and ears), was Phantasy Star finally done RIGHT. An engrossing narrative (w/ pretty pictures!), random battles were quick and simple affairs while bosses required careful planning (and buffs, oh god don't ever fight a PSIV boss without (ab)using buffs!), a battle system that utilized combinations attacks (this is my fetish), excellent FM tunes, a breezy walking speed (a pox on whoever decided PSII's walk speed), sidequests out the ying-yang, and continuity nods all over the place. Phantasy Star IV was so good I wished the dev team went back to the first two (lol PSIII) and remade them using PSIV as a template.
But alas... years later, Sega would finally remake the first two games as part of their Sega Ages line, for the PS2. And they were kinda good (even if they DID screw up Nei's ears) from what I've heard. Too bad Sega of America passed on localization. Ohohoho... will they ever learn?
I love the music in Phantasy Star 2.
._.
How can you not love the boss music? So heroic, so majestic, so epic! <3
Take into account how freaking hard (Nintendo Hard, even o.o) PSII is, when you got to hear the special boss music, you knew something was going down. PSII has a lot of subtleties that really make me appreciate it and enjoy it even to this day, and I didn't even grow up with old-school rpgs (My entry into rpgs was Final Fantasy VIII, mind you. Although I'm one of the few people that doesn't completely hate FF8, but that's probably just nostalgia talking).
*PSII FINAL BOSS SPOLIERS... not that there's much to spoil in a game that's rather light on plot*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOaux80UH64
That being said, bear in mind Phantasy Star II was released in 1989, the NES hadn't even phased out at that point. So what PSII managed to pack into it was pretty damn impressive, I'd say. I don't get what was so repulsive about the sound effects, I'd say the bleeps of the NES-era Final Fantasy's and Dragon Warrior's were fairly annoying (I enjoy playing them, don't get me wrong. But with the sound turned off.)
Anyway, I definitely agree about PSIV on all points.
However, I definitely think you should give Phantasy 1 a shot. It has Wizardry-style 1st person dungeon crawling, which definitely makes the game hard, but I don't think the game hits Nintendo Hard levels until the very end where you have to go through Bala Malay Tower + Air Castle all in one go (Which really requires you to play ultra conservative, unless you wanna run out of mp halfway through the dungeon). At the same time it definitely has it's own charm, at least I think so.
All four Phantasy Star games are on virtual console, as far as I know. Or you could grab Phantasy Star collection on gba which has 1-3. Or you could be like me and use your "specialty store" ... *cough*
I haven't played the Sega Ages games, seeing as I can't read japanese and like hell I'm learning a 2nd language for a video game =P
Or you could be like me and use your "specialty store" ... *cough*
EDIT: now that I think about it, there was a Phantasy Star Collection for PS2 (Japan only). It was unique because on top of including all the PS games on one disc in both Japanese and English languages, it also included things like a submenu in each game where you can tweak things like game difficulty (amount of exp/mesata gain, basically) and walking speed (omg yes) + the two Game Gear Phantasy Star games. If and when I choose to finally play PS1 and tackle PS2 again, I'll be sure to use this version!
You're almost right Hukos. The original games were NOT developed by Sonic Team.
...or at least, not all of them. However, Yuji Naka was the lead programmer behind the original games
Anyway yes. Love the originals myself, but haven't played all the way through - yet. You can bet I will get round to doing so though 
Naka only worked on 1 and 2. He got a special thanks credit in 3 and I don't recall if there was anything for 4. I'm sure by then he was already working alongside STI.
Added walking speed would make Phantasy Star 3 infinitely more playable than before.
